The 300th Anniversary of the birth of Sweden’s most famous scientist and botanist, Carl Linnaeus was celebrated in November. The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Councillor Paddy Bourke and His Excellency, Claes Ljungdahl, Ambassador to Sweden, pictured above, planted lime trees in honour of Linnaeus’s scientific achievements.

The Ambassador said: “This year, 2007, marks the 300th anniversary of the birth of Carl Linnaeus (in Sweden known by his noble name, Carl von Linné). Already in his life time, Linnaeus was known all over Europe as a famous scientist, botanist and zoologist. He is probably the best known Swede who ever walked this planet.

“Linnaeus developed the binary method of classifying plants that 300 years later is still in use. Quite an achievement for a man, then only in his mid twenties. The heritage that Linnaeus and his students have left to the world is still very much alive and valid. This anniversary is not just about looking back, but just as much about the future of generations to come.

“I hope that the lime trees (Tilia Platyphyllos Corallina) we are planting today will form a pleasant grove, a token of deep and sustained Irish–Swedish friendship, as well as an inspiration for an ecologically sound care for the nature in which we are living.”

More information on the life of Carl Linnaeus may be found on www.linnaeus.nu/eng/default.asp